A Permit to Fly may be issued to aircraft that do not meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) certification standards required for the issue of a Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) subject to satisfying certain requirements.

A Permit to Fly will not be issued to an aircraft that is eligible for the issue of a C of A, but may be issued in the event of a CofA becoming temporarily invalid.

A National Permit to Fly is granted, in accordance with BCAR A3-7. Aircraft in this category are generally ex-military, amateur built, microlight, gyroplanes or without a valid Type Certificate.

CAP 733 - "Permit to Fly Aircraft" is a comprehensive source of information regarding Permits to Fly and provides guidance on the following topics:

Qualifying for the Initial Issue of a Permit to Fly

Criteria for the Issue of a Permit to Fly

Modifying or Repairing a Permit to Fly Aircraft

Maintenance Inspection and Revalidation of an Aircraft Issued with a Permit to Fly

Operation of a Permit to Fly Aircraft

A Permit to Fly issue refers to the validation of an aircraft's first Permit to Fly

A Permit to Fly renewal is applicable when the Permit to Fly expires

A Permit to Fly issue refers to the validation of an aircraft's first Permit to Fly

A Permit to Fly renewal is applicable when the Permit to Fly Certificate of Validity expires.

Permanent Permits to Fly

An EASA permanent Permit to Fly may be issued for non-commercial flying activity on individual, non complex aircraft types for which a Certificate of Airworthiness or Restricted Certificate of Airworthiness is not appropriate.

The CAA may issue a National Permit to Fly in accordance with BCAR A3-7, only to aircraft that are not eligible for a National Certificate of Airworthiness.

Temporary Permits to Fly

An EASA temporary Permit to Fly is issued when an aircraft is temporarily unable to comply with the regulations set for the issue of a Certificate of Airworthiness but is still capable of safe flight under defined conditions. They may also be issued to an EASA aircraft that usually holds a EASA permanent permit to fly, but this has expired and the aircraft requires either a check flight or a positioning flight.

A temporary National Permit to Fly is issued to a national aircraft type to allow the aircraft to complete a check flight or positioning flight (when ‘A Conditions’ are not applicable).

Variation of Permit To Fly To Remove Prohibition on Flight Over Congested Areas

The standard Permit to Fly issued by the CAA includes a condition prohibiting flight over the congested area of a city, town or settlement. The CAA has, after careful consideration of the levels of safety achieved for certain categories of permit aircraft, decided that this condition should be withdrawn for aeroplanes in certain categories.